The human rights and Internet fragmentation resolution led by Boston Common Asset Management received a record level of support from shareholders, according to the preliminary vote announced at the Cisco Systems Annual Stockholders Meeting last week in California.
29% of all shareholders voted against management's recommendation with a "For" or "Abstain" vote, according to an announcement made at the meeting.
"This is a record vote for a resolution of this nature" said Dawn Wolfe, Social Research Analyst at Boston Common Asset Management. "The fact that well over one-quarter of all Cisco shareholders are not convinced management has adequately responded to this issue and are dissatisfied with its assertion that Internet fragmentation and possible human rights liabilities do not represent a potential threat to Cisco's long term global growth sends a strong message."
The proposal, co-filed by three additional investors, asks management to disclose the concrete steps it could reasonably take to reduce fragmentation of the Internet, the suppression of information, or violations of personal privacy. Internet fragmentation, or balkanization, occurs when government authorities create extensive firewalls around citizens, severely restrict the flow of information, conduct pervasive surveillance of electronic communication users, and ultimately slow the growth of people accessing the Internet. Earlier this month, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) issued its mainstream investor vote recommendation in favor of the shareholder proposal. ISS is a leading proxy voting agency that issues impartial vote recommendations for nearly 1,700 institutional investors worldwide.
Boston Common began formal engagement with Cisco in January 2005 over the human rights and long term financial impacts of selling powerful networking technology to governments around the world. Earlier this year, Boston Common was asked to submit written testimony for inclusion in the Congressional Record of the February 15, 2006 Human Rights Sub-Committee hearing "The Internet in China: A Tool for Freedom or Suppression".
Boston Common is currently engaged in dialogue with Microsoft on a related issue concerning censorship of online content in certain markets worldwide.
